Saturday 29 September 2012

New Czech stamps + an offer


Talking about vintage cars, I am happy to show a new set of six self-adhesive stamps which were issued by the Czech Post on 5 September. These are pictures by self-taught Czech artist Václav Zapadlík who specialises in the so called "Auto Art". The big stamps (5.5 x 3.3 cm) show:

a) Duesenberg SJ - 1933
b) Wikov 70 - 1931
c) Mercedes Benz 540 - 1936
d) Rolls Royce Phantom III - 1938
e) Bugatti Royale 41 - 1934
f) Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8a - 1929

and are simply awesome. Since I noticed that our local post-office has quite a lot these booklets, I am offering to send one stamp from the series on a postcard or a cover to anyone interested. In return please send me a nicely-stamped postcard showing the place where you live. (In case we haven't exchanged before, please send first, I will reply right upon receiving your card). The E rate means "EUROPE" and one stamp covers the postage to all European countries, for overseas I will add a definitive. I will send the mail hand-cancelled.

If interested, please drop me an email at milan @ noir . cz

Friday 28 September 2012

Postcard from Slovakia no. 8


Here's a postcard sent by our granny from Bardejov, in the east of Slovakia. It shows the Church of St. Giles (Aegidius), which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Historic Centre of Bardejov.

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The engraved EUR 0.80 stamp from 2011 shows Tatra 87, one of the classic Czechoslovakian cars, made by Tatra in Kopřivnice here in Moravia in 1936-1950. According to Wikipedia, John Steinbeck and Jay Leno, among others, drove this highly original car with the unmistakable shark's fin. The other stamp in the series shows the Prague-made Aero 30. Print-run 1 million each.

Thursday 27 September 2012

Cover from Hong Kong no. 6

Another great cover sent from Hong Kong by Brian, with one stamp from the series HK Delicacies, issued on 30 August 2012, with the first-day-of-issue postmark. The stamp features Wonton noodles. More about the whole set is here. Thank you very much, Brian!

Postcard from Spain no. 6

Another postcard from Catalonia, sent by me from L'Estartit, showing the map of the province of Girona. I assume there is a whole series of these attractive cards, covering the entire Spain, published by Escudo de Oro in Barcelona. I saw this one only in one place of all the kiosks and card-racks, in one of the narrow streets leading to the Girona cathedral. And the stamps:
The EUR 0.36 civic value "No contaminar" shown earlier, and a rose from 2007.

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Postcard from Spain no. 5

We spent the last few weeks on holidays in Spain (Catalonia) and France (Department of Herault), and here is a postcard we sent home showing the city of Girona. Even though it was a very hot day (for me quite unexpected for September) the city amazed me, it is a pure medieval jewel. The card shows the historic centre and the River Onyar.
Here are the stamps I used: a EUR 0.34 trompeta from 2010 and a 0.36 "Civic values" from 2012, together making the actual rate for Europe of 0.70 EUR. The card was posted in the town of L'Estartit.
These "Civic values" stamps issued on 9 January 2010 can be currently found in most Spanish tabac stands that I visited (the other stamp on offer is the 0.70 EUR "Turismo" from 2012).